SPELLING EDITED

F-15. What does WALKING as Jesus WALKED Mean?

In other words, what does 1 John 1:7 TRULY mean by the blood of Jesus CLEANSES us AS we WALK in the LIGHT even a He is in the LIGHT?

I John 1:7.

“But IF we WALK in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son CLEANSES us from all sin.”

Now, the phrase “IF we WALK” seems to us as being an action verb of continuing to walk in the light. Keep in mind that John is speaking to Christians who are ALREADY saved and thus they are already CLEANSED of ALL of our past sins. So this verse is NOT speaking about people becoming saved to BE cleansed of their sins. But rather John is talking to Christians to walk in the Light even as God is dwelling in the Light having NO DARKNESS in him. Let us now read the CONTEXT to learn the TRUE meaning of walking EVEN AS Jesus walked.

Please read 1 John 1:1-10 PLUS 1 John 2:1-11.

 “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life; 

2.  (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and show unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested unto us;) 

3.  That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that you ALSO may have fellowship with us: (So the Apostle John is speaking to the UNSAVED, to those who say that they are Christians, but they are NOT truly WALKING as Christians are commanded to walk, and John is speaking to true born-again Christians declaring to ALL of them the TRUE Gospel of Jesus Christ that was given to the Apostles of Jesus from the very beginning) and truly our fellowship is with the Father, AND with his Son Jesus Christ. 

4.  And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full. 

5.  This THEN IS the MESSAGE (Or this then IS the TRUE Gospel of Jesus Christ) which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in HIM is NO darkness at all. 

6.  If we SAY that we have fellowship with him, (Or if we SAY that we are Christians) and WALK IN DARKNESS, we LIE, and do NOT the TRUTH: (In other words, if  Christians are Christians in NAME ONLY by living in sin then they are LYING by saying that they believe in Jesus. They are NOT OBEYING the TRUTH of the TRUE Gospel of Jesus Christ while they are living in a lifestyle of sin)

7.  BUT IF we WALK in the light, as He (Speaking of Almighty God the Father) is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son CLEANSES us from all sin. (Now the ANSWER to the question “Why do we need to be CLEANSED of sin when the shed blood of Jesus has ALREADY CLEANSED us of ALL our sins, past present and future” is in the very next two verses of Scripture. Keep in mind that the Apostle John is speaking to THREE DIFFERENT groups of people and the answer to ALL three groups of people)

8  If we SAY that we have NO sin, we DECEIVE ourselves, and the TRUTH is NOT in us. (In other words, John is saying to the group of unsaved people who say that they have NO sin the word in the FOLLOWING verse 9 that if they confess that they are a sinner and repent then they will be saved. And John is ALSO saying to the group of Christians who THINK that they are Christians who say that they have NO sin the FOLLOWING verse as well. And to true born-again Christians who say they have NO sin by making EXCUSES for their sins John is also saying the FOLLOWING verse)

9.  If we CONFESS our sins, he is FAITHFUL and just to FORGIVE us our sins, (No matter what group of people we are in at that time in our life) and to CLEANSE us from all unrighteousness. (So then, one PART of WALKING in the light is to CONFESS our SINS no matter what group of people we are in. BUT)

10.  If we SAY that we have NOT sinned, (Then we are NOT walking in the TRUE Gospel of Jesus Christ to CONFESS our sins. And by doing that) we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.”

Keep reading the rest of the CONTEXT.

1 John 2:1-11. 

“My little children, these things write I unto you, (Speaking of the above CONTEXT to stop HIDING our sins no matter what group we are in) that you sin NOT. And IF any man sin, (Speaking of any person in ANY of the three groups of people who have sinned) we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: 

2.  And he is the propitiation for our sins: and NOT for ours ONLY, but ALSO for the sins of the whole world. (So that WHOSOEVER of any person in any group of people who CONFESS their sins will be forgiven of their sins and CLEANSED by the blood of Jesus from all unrighteousness to be placed in a RIGHT RELATIONSHIP with God. So WALKING in the light of the TRUE Gospel of Jesus Christ means to RESIST the temptation to sin in order to NOT sin, BUT IF we do give in to a temptation and sin then we MUST repent and CONFESS that sin that we committed AFTER we first believed in order to be CLEANSED again by the SAME once and for all time ONE sacrifice of the shed blood of Jesus)

3.  And hereby we do know that we know him if we keep his commandments. (The commandment to BELIEVE in Jesus as the atonement for our sin. The MORAL commandments to not break any MORAL law of God, AND the commandment or the instruction to REPENT and CONFESS the sins we commit AFTER we first believed in Jesus to be cleansed of all our PAST sins) 

4.  He that says, I know him, and keeps NOT  his commandments, is a LIAR, and the TRUTH is NOT in him. (Now the seventh day of the week Sabbath-keeping Christians use this verse to try and COMPELL no-Sabbath-keeping Christians to keep the Law of Moses contained in ordinances that have been NAILED to the cross and have been taken OUT of the WAY. Sabbath-keeping Christians have NOT the TRUTH of the TRUE Gospel of Jesus Christ in them and they LOVE making the LIE that Christians MUST KEEP the Law of Moses. But they ERROR by not understanding WHY God has given the entire world the NEW COVENANT written in the New Testament. So the TRUTH is NOT in them)

5.  But whoso keeps his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him. 

6.  He that says he abides in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked. (Meaning that we are to live WITHOUT SIN even as Jesus lived WITHOUT SIN)

7.  Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which you have heard from the beginning. (Speaking of the TRUE Gospel of Jesus Christ under the New Covenant written in the New Testament which includes ONLY ALL the MORAL commandments written in the Old Testament under the Law of Moses and NONE of the Law of Moses contained in ORDINANCES.)

8  Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in you: because the darkness is past, and the true light now shines. 

9.  He that SAYS he is in the light, and HATES his brother, is in darkness even until now. (Meaning that EVEN true born-again Christians who make EXCUSES for holding vengeance in their heart to NOT forgive those who have wronged them are walking in DARKNESS until they REPENT of the SIN and CONFESS their sin asking God to forgive them. And IF they confess their sin then God is ALWAYS faithful and just to FORGIVE them and CLEANSE them again with the already once and for all time shed blood of Jesus)

10.  He that LOVES his brother abides (Or WALKS or REMAINS) in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him. 

11.  BUT he that HATES his brother is in DARKNESS, and WALKS in DARKNESS, and knows not whither he goes because that DARKNESS has BLINDED his eyes.” 

And since there is NO darkness at ALL in God, then the darkness that BLINDS the minds of those who WALK in darkness is God's enemy, Satan, the father of those that WALK in DISOBEDIENCE of the true gospel of Jesus Christ to live in a lifestyle of SIN and they make EXCUSES for theirs sins.

Please read 2 Corinthians 4:1-6.

“Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not; 

2.  But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, NOT walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by the manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God. 

3.  But if our gospel (Speaking of the TRUE Gospel of Jesus Christ under the New Covenant written in the New Testament) be hid, it is hidden to them that are LOST: (Who are NOT walking in the LIGHT of the TRUE Gospel of Jesus Christ)

4.  In whom the god of this world has BLINDED the minds of them which believe not, lest the LIGHT of the glorious GOSPEL of Christ, who is the image of God, should SHINE unto them. 

5.  For we preach not ourselves, (Or we do not preach ANOTHER gospel of our OWN PERSONAL INTERPRETATION) but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake. 

6.  For God, who commanded the LIGHT to shine out of darkness, has shined in our hearts, to give the LIGHT of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”

But the Christians who teach that we are saved by grace ALONE are only teaching PART of the light of the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ. They OMIT the most important part of the TRUE Gospel of Jesus Christ which is our WALK in the light even as your heavenly Father has NO DARKNESS in Him. In other words, ALL Christians are CALLED to a life of SERVING God in RIGHTEOUSNESS to NOT SIN. and IF we sin we are called to repent and CONFESS those sins.

However, SOME Christians sincerely believe that the very moment they prayed a sinner's prayer that they are ETERNALLY saved from that point in time and forward. And, therefore, to THEM, they can never lose their salvation no matter what they DO or what they do NOT do. And some of them go as far to say that they can even DENY Jesus and they would still never lose their salvation. Some of them even believe that they do NOT have to CONFESS ANY sin after they prayed the sinner's prayer because confessing their sin would be a WORK and they would be BOASTING.

WOW! To me, it is hard to believe that they can be so deceived to believe such false teachings that CONTRADICT so many passages of Scripture in the Bible. For all the studies that I have on this subject are under the heading >>>CAN WE LOSE ETERNAL LIFE?<<< So if you are a grace alone eternal security believer or you know someone who is, then I implore you to read all the studies that I have under the above heading that are on the subject of whether or not the doctrine of once saved always saved is Biblical or not. But for now, let us continue this study on walking EVEN AS Jesus walked.

What does it truly mean to walk EVEN AS Jesus walked? Does it mean that we must be crucified on a cross in order to receive eternal life in the world to come? Does it mean that we must be MARTYRED for our faith in Jesus to be found worthy to receive eternal life? Does it mean that all we must do is BELIEVE that we are made RIGHTEOUS in Jesus Christ and ANY and EVERY WORK we do in obedience to God is a sin like some Christians claim? Or does it mean that we are to also live WITHOUT SIN even as Jesus lived WITHOUT SIN which REQUIRES us WORK the work of OBEDIENCE?

Please read 1 Peter 2:21-24.

“For even hereunto were you CALLED: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an EXAMPLE, that you should FOLLOW HIS STEPS: (And WHAT STEPS of Jesus are we CALLED to follow? Simply read the next verse of Scripture for the answer of WHAT we are CALLED by God to DO)

22.  Who did NO SIN, neither was guile found in his mouth: (So then, the TRUE meaning of walking EVEN AS Jesus walked means to live WITHOUT SIN. And that means that we are to do both. We are to stop sinning altogether and never sin again, Or we are to repent and CONFESS our sins that we commit after we first believed in Jesus to be saved. Or we must do BOTH until we grow strong in the power of God’s might to never sin again. In other words, we are to strive to live without sin while we are LEARNING how to overcome sin to keep sin out of our life. And IF we do sin while in this process of GROWING in the Lord then we MUST repent and CONFESS those sins we commit after we first believed in Jesus to be saved. But keep reading because there is more that we are called to do and not to do)

23  Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judges righteously: (In other words, Jesus prayed to our God and his God to be kept from temptation as much as possible. Jesus COMMITTED himself to the POWER of God dwelling in him which empowered the Son of MAN Jesus to live WITHOUT SIN)

24.  Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes you were healed.”

In some of the studies, I have written that AS we walk in the light then the BLOOD of Jesus CONTINUALLY CLEANSES us from ALL our sins. And a dear brother in the Lord wrote to me asking the question What do you mean “CONTINUALLY CLEANSES” us for sin? He then said that to him it would seem that if we are walking in the light then we would NOT be sinning. And then he asked this question, “Since we were ALREADY cleansed from ALL of our PAST sins when we first believed then WHAT sins are we CONTINUALLY being CLEANSED from AS we are walking in the light by NOT sinning?”

So I wrote back to him explaining what I INTENDED to mean by the shed blood continually cleansing us from all our sins. So the flowing is what I wrote along with some additional teaching and clarification. But rather than just quoting what I wrote to him I will reword it with the added teaching to simply what I mean by the blood of Jesus continually cleansing us AS we walk in the light even as there is no darkness in Almighty God the Father himself.

When we first believed in Jesus as our Lord and Savior, God gave us his GIFT of RIGHTEOUSNESS. In other words, when we first believed in the shed blood of Jesus on the cross that God CLEANSED us with the shed blood of Jesus to MAKE us the very RIGHTEOUSNESS of Almighty God himself. To say this another way, God made us PERFECT even AS he himself is PERFECT having NO DARKNESS in him.

So then the GIFT that God actually gave to us is the SHED BLOOD of Jesus that the Son of man, Jesus shed on the CROSS. In other words, God gave us his MERCY. God gave us his GRACE. God gave us his TRUTH. God provided all of these things for ALL of mankind. And God did this so that we could be HIS workmanship and NOT our OWN workmanship wherein there is BOASTING and PRIDE.

Think of God laying down his free gift of RIGHTEOUSNESS which is God’s gift of his MECRY, his GRACE, AND his TRUTH that He laid down on a table for WHOSOEVER choose to RECEIVE by PICKING UP God’s free gift of eternal life. Think about BINDING God’s gift of mercy, grace, and truth around your neck like a necklace that you always have WITH you and that you never TAKE OFF. Now let us read a couple of passages of Scriptures from the Old Testament on this subject of BINDING mercy, truth and grace around our necks in order to have life.

Proverbs 3:1-7.

“My son, forget not my law; but let your HEART keep my commandments: 

2.  For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to you. 

3.  Let NOT mercy and truth forsake you: (Or do not allow mercy and truth to relinquish you) BIND them about your NECK; write them upon the table of your heart: 

4.  So shall you find favor and good understanding (Or so shall you find GRACE and understanding GOOD) in the sight of God and man. 

5.  Trust in the LORD with all your heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 

6.  In all your ways acknowledge him, (Or share to God your plans but then ask Him what He wants you to do) and he shall direct your paths. 

7.  Be not wise in your own eyes: fear the LORD, and DEPART from EVIL.”

Now let us read verse 22 and then we will read the context of verse 22.

Proverbs 3:22.

“So shall they be life unto your soul, and GRACE to your NECK.”

Mercy, truth, and grace are God’s GIFTS to mankind. And if we PICK UP God’s GIFT of mercy, truth, and grace and BIND them around our NECK to hold on to them and never let them go then they shall be LIFE to our soul. Let us now read the context of verse 22. We already read the first seven verses.

Proverbs 3:13-27.

“Happy is the man that FINDS wisdom, and the man that GETS understanding. 

14.  For the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold. 

15.  She is more precious than rubies: and all the things you can desire are not to be compared unto her. 

16  Length of days (Or FOREVER of days or everlasting days) is in her right hand; and in her left hand riches and honor. 

17.  Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are PEACE. 

18.  She is a TREE of LIFE to them that LAY HOLD upon her: and happy is every one that RETAINS her. (We all know that this entire passage of Scripture is a prophecy of Jesus. So laying hold of the tree of life is receiving and believing the TRUE Gospel of Jesus Christ to be initially saved to be forgiven of all our PAST sins and placed in a RIGHT RELATIONSHIP with Almighty God by faith ALONE. And RETAINING the gift of eternal life is KEEPING grace, mercy, and truth BOUND around our necks so to speak to never lay them DOWN)

19.  The LORD by wisdom has founded the earth; by understanding has he established the heavens. 

20.  By his knowledge, the depths are broken up, and the clouds drop down the dew. 

21.  My son let NOT them DEPART from your EYES: KEEP SOUND wisdom and discretion: (When Peter took his EYES OFF of Jesus he began to sink in the water of the raging stormy sea. The word “sea” is sometimes used symbolically as something that is evil or wicked. But Peter cried out for Jesus to SAVE him and Jesus never hesitated a second to reach down and grabbed Peters arm and stood him up on his feet back on top of the water of the sea. Now to me, this is symbolically showing us that when we take our eyes off of Jesus to commit SIN then we can know and be assured that when we repent and cry out to Jesus to forgive us, then he will reach down and pull us out of the water of the raging sea so that sin will be UNDER our feet once again. But the perfect will of God is that we never take our eyes off of Jesus and the TRUE Gospel of Jesus Christ under the New Covenant written in the New Testament. And by KEEPING SOUND wisdom and discretion)

22.  So shall they be LIFE unto your soul and GRACE to your NECK. 

23  THEN shall you walk in your way safely, and thy foot shall not stumble. (In other words, the EVIL ONE can NOT touch you WHILE you are in a right relationship with God and his Son Jesus. When you RETAIN of KEEP sin out of your life by USING mercy, truth, and grace then we are abiding under the shadow of the Almighty as Psalms 91 teaches us and God's HEDGE of PROTECTION is around you. So then,)

24  When you lie down, you shall NOT be afraid: yea, you shall lie down, and your sleep shall be sweet. 

25.  Be NOT afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it comes. 

26.  For the LORD shall be your confidence, and shall keep your foot from being taken. 

27.  Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, WHEN it is in the POWER of your hand to do it.” 

So then, IF we WALK in the light even as He is in the light means that we REMAIN in the light.

But when we walk in DARKNESS of sin then we are TAKING OFF the GIFT of the shed blood of Jesus and laying it back DOWN. Mercy, grace, and truth are on the table where God laid them to be picked up and RETAINED around our neck. So the ONLY way to be CLEANSED from our sins AFTER we first believed is to go to the table of God where WE ourselves of our own free will laid God’s GIFT of the shed blood of Jesus on the cross BACK DOWN on that table when we gave in to temptation and SINNED.

So WALKING in the light is to first do our best to NOT sin. But IF we do sin and we are in truth taking OFF mercy truth and grace from around our neck. We are the servants of Satan so long as we remain living in sin. And, therefore, we must OBEY the leading of the Holy Spirit convicting us of sin and pick God’s GIFT of the shed blood of Jesus on the cross BACK UP again in order to be FORGIVEN of our sins that we commit after we first believed.

In other words, think of it this way, Does the shed blood of Jesus ever STOP having the POWER to cleanse us?

Salvation is in TWO parts. 

The first part is our INITIALLY being saved.

We are first saved, as in, we are forgiven of all our past sins to be placed in a right relationship with God. God CLEANSES us of all our past unrighteousness so that he can give us the earnest of his Holy Spirit to EMPOWER us to OVERCOME sin in our lives.

The second part of being saved is our WALK with God to OVERCOME sin. We overcome sin in TWO ways. The first way is the MAIN GOAL. And that main goal is to stop sinning altogether which is a PROCESS that takes place over time. Some Christians never reach the goal of no longer sinning. The second way to overcome sin is to REPENT and confess the sins we commit after we first believed to be initially saved.

And the END of our salvation is when we ACTUALLY RECEIVE eternal life in the world to come AT the second coming of Jesus which is when the rapture of the church will occur.

Please read Romans 6:20-23.

“For when you were the servants of sin, you were free from righteousness. 

21.  What fruit (Or what reward or what wage) had you then in those things (Of being servants of Satan and sin) whereof you are now ashamed? For the END of those things is death. (Or the JUDGMENT at the END for those people for being servants of SIN is DEATH. Meaning the second death in the lake of fire on the FINAL Day of Judgment being the wage serving sin at the END)

22.  But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, you have your fruit unto holiness, and the END everlasting life.  (Now why would some Christians INTERPRET the END for eternal life being the very moment that a person BELIEVES in Jesus when they KNOW that the END for the servants of sin is the Day of JUDGMENT? It is because they take verses out of their context and they do not TRULY consider the WHOLE word of Almighty God. They pick and choose selected verses to try and support their doctrine of eternal security that is based solely on their incorrect INTERPRETATION of Christians ALREADY HAVING eternal life as God’s GIFT and that God is not an “Indian giver” so to speak. The saying “Indian giver” means to give something to someone and then take it BACK. But as we have just learned in this study in God’s word, it is NOT God who takes back his gift of eternal life. But rather, it is those Christians who LAY DOWN their gift of the shed blood of Jesus each and every time they give in to the temptation to SIN. They return to being servants of SIN. And if they do NOT repent and confess their sins that they commit after they first believed then they will receive the wage of SIN)

23  For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Jesus said that we do not actually receive the gift of eternal life UNTIL the world to come, the Millennium,

Please read Mark 10:29,30.

“And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that has left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel's, 

30.  But he shall receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; AND in the world to come eternal life.”

For a deeper understanding of the TRUE Gospel of Jesus Christ that teaches us in SIMPLICITY that we can LOSE the gift of eternal life then please read all the studies under the heading >>>CAN WE LOSE ETERNAL LIFE?<<<

Now my dear brother in our Lord Jesus Christ who ask me what I meant by walking in the light and the blood of Jesus continually cleanses us also brought up the subject of the sins of OMISSION. And since I did not yet have a SPECIFIC Bible study on that particular subject I felt impressed to write one. And as I was studying this subject seeing what others teach, I was surprised to see the many different opinions that are out there. Some of which I feel brings BONDAGE of FEAR to Christianity. So I encourage you to read this study as well. It is called “WHAT ARE NOT SINS OF OMISSION!”

Thanks for reading and may God bless you richly as you continue to seek the truth of the whole word of Almighty God.

Your Brother in our Lord Jesus Christ,

Brother Mark.

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